Two Senators Want Navy to Stop Working on Large Unmanned Warship

An LUSV concept released by Austal (Austal)

Published Dec 2, 2024 5:13 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Two key senators with defense oversight powers are asking the U.S. Navy to drop its Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle (LUSV) program, one of two major acquisition initiatives aimed at bringing crew-light or crew-free surface combatants into reality. 

According to a letter obtained first by Breaking Defense, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) - the most senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee - want the Navy to repurpose its LUSV funds for work on the smaller Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV) program. (The Navy uses the terms "vehicle" and "vessel" interchangeably for unmanned craft.)

Their most serious concern is unrelated to either program, and has to do with a missile shortage. Defense planners have been warning for years about a shortage of Mk-41 vertical launch system (VLS) cells due to the retirement of the VLS-heavy Ticonderoga-class cruisers; fewer VLS cells afloat means fewer places to pre-stage missiles for a fight, assuming an abundant supply of missiles. But Reed and Wicker are worried about the opposite problem: they expressed concern the Navy will "have a shortfall in Mk-41 compatible missiles even to outfit all LUSVs." Without missiles to fill them, the VLS cells on any platform would be useless, whether manned or unmanned. 

The senators also expressed concern that LUSV's size and capability requirements put it in about the same class as a manned frigate. The Navy says that it wants a 1,000- to 2,000-tonne ship, but Reed and Wicker said that with a desired payload of up to 32 VLS cells, the unmanned ship could grow as big as 4,000 tonnes - driving up cost, complexity and time to delivery. The letter warned that in its present state, LUSV could face difficulties in securing the appropriations needed to reach production. 

At just 500 tonnes, the MUSV does not have the same funding requirements, and is small and limited enough that it would not compete with traditional manned shipbuilding programs. The senators recommended proceeding with MUSV at a faster pace, acquiring more hulls in FY2025-26. They noted the Navy's previous success with test vessels in the MUSV's size range, like the crewboat-based "Ghost Fleet Overlord" program. 

MUSVs could be coming soon. In June, Naval Sea Systems Command's unmanned office asked industry for ways to deliver a Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV) within the span of a year, a lightning-fast timeline by government procurement standards. The request for information sought options for buying seven MUSV hulls, each shorter than 200 feet and smaller than 500 tons displacement.